Sourwolf, A Children's Story
by ArchArrow1
Summary: Once upon a time there was a wolf. Not just any kind of a wolf, a werewolf, a Sourwolf. What's a Sourwolf you ask? A Sourwolf is exactly what this wolf was. He was a mean person, a rude person, a creature that lived completely alone and didn't want anyone. Until he found him, the young man in the red hooded sweater.


Authors Note: Where do I start? This little story is actually a part of my current ongoing fic called 'Helpless Case'. I loved writing this, it was so much fun but also extremely challenging. Trying to speak in a simple language and accurately protray what you want to tell is hard. I never thought it would be, but it was. I wanted to write this because when you really think about it, how many kids stories have homosexual relationships? I haven't heard of one. Every fairytale or children's story I have ever read growing up was strictly a man and woman, sometimes in really sexist roles. Not that I didn't enjoy them, but I think I would have enjoyed another kind of story too. I feel like having stories like this could help with children accepting themselves as adults, in terms of their sexuality. Being exposed to the idea that same sex couples exist and can love each other, that it is normal and okay. It could help children grow into the idea that who ever they are and who ever they want, is okay.

I hope you guys enjoy this. I realize that this idea is more mature so I tried my hardest to make it easy to understand for younger children. When I wrote this, I read it outloud, like you would to a child.

Thanks ilovethesoundoftherain for editing!

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**Sourwolf**

Once upon a time there was a wolf. Not just any kind of a wolf, a werewolf, a Sourwolf. What's a Sourwolf you ask? A Sourwolf is exactly what this wolf was. He was a mean person, a rude person, a creature that lived completely alone and didn't want anyone. The town's people feared, and avoided him. He growled at them when they walked by, even go as far as too threaten them with his fangs and claws if someone got too close.

He wasn't always like this, once upon a time he was a happy wolf, one that smiled and laughed. That time was gone. That was a time before the Hunters took over the town. That was a time before they destroyed the Sourwolf's family, leaving him all alone. That's why he was living in the ruins of his family's old house, because there was no one left. It's why the Sourwolf didn't want any new friends; he didn't want anyone in his life that he was going to lose.

It was a cloudy day when it all changed. The wind was bitter cold, a bite so harsh it made your skin tingle and feel it deep in your bones. The screams had awoken him, from a deep dreamless sleep. He was up running through the woods within a matter of moments, using his nose to follow the scent of the intruder and his ears to locate where the screams were coming from. These woods were his and even the Hunters knew better to wander into his territory.

Being a werewolf had blessed the Sourwolf with amazing abilities. Not only could he change into a wolf whenever he wanted but he had a better sense of smell, sight and taste. He had the strength of several men and could run faster than any person alive.

When the Sourwolf finally came to spot in the woods where the intruder's scent was the strongest. He had noticed that he couldn't hear the screaming anymore and for some reason that had worried him, he needed to find the thing that had made the noises. If it was a Hunter he needed to be prepared to defend himself and what was left of his home. The Sourwolf sniffed the air once again, trying his hardest to find where the screams had come from, but that's when he saw it.

Red.

The wolf ran towards it. As he got closer he saw that it was a boy—not a boy but a young man dressed in the red hooded sweater. The man had dark brown hair that was shaved close to his head. He had fair skin with moles that dotted his face and had bright pink lips. The Sourwolf took a step back feeling his breath being taken away. He was aware of how ordinary the young man looked, but something about him made the wolf think he was beautiful.

The Sourwolf was now faced with a problem. What was he going to do with the man? He could hear the younger man's heart; hear the sound of him breathing, meaning he was alive and not in any danger. Normally he would just leave people and let them save themselves, just like he always had done. The Sourwolf was having trouble doing this, something was telling him to help the boy, to keep him safe.

That's what the Sourwolf decided to do. He reached down and picked the man up and carried him back to the ruins of his home, straight up to his room, laid him on his bed, drawing the blanket over him to keep the boy warm and waited.

The Sourwolf sat and waited for the man to wake. When he finally did the wolf was surprised at the dark amber eyes that widened up at him.

"Who are you?" The man yelled pushing himself to the head of the bed and shuffled over to the edge. The Sourwolf scowled at the other man having startled him with his raised voice.

"Who are you?" The wolf gritted out.

"You were running through my woods." The Sourwolf spoke again, and heard a gasp. He looked up at the man's widened eyes.

"You're him." The man whispered. The Sourwolf froze, the human knew him?

"You're the creature that lives in the woods just outside of town. The one everyone is afraid of." The Sourwolf felt himself become filled with a white hot anger.

"GET OUT!" He roared and the man flinched but didn't make a move to run.

"You know, you're not as scary as everyone says you are. What's your name?" The wolf stared at the man in utter disbelief. The man had just asked the wolf his name. The Sourwolf extended his claws, bared his fangs and pointed towards the door.

"I said leave." He growled, but the man continued like he never even spoke.

"My name's Genim, nice to meet you!" The man grinned and offered his hand to the wolf. Both men stood there for a few moments, the wolf just staring at the hand in front of him.

The Sourwolf for the first time in a long time was actually stumped. He tried to scare the man away twice and that didn't work, now he was at a loss at how to get Genim to leave.

"I'm sorry, if I offended you by calling you a creature. I just don't know your name." The wolf looked at Genim, in complete shock; no one had ever apologized to him before.

"My name …"

The wolf paused, surprised at hearing his own voice.

One that wasn't a growl.

"My name is Derek." Genim grinned at the wolf, wide toothy; the younger mans eyes lit up at hearing the wolf's real name. The wolf felt tightness across his chest, and fluttering in his stomach. He felt his heart start to beat faster, and his hands getting sweaty.

What was the man doing to him?

That's how their unlikely friendship started. Genim remained at the Sourwolf's home for the rest of that day, just talking. The wolf was in a state of awe at how much one person could speak, he had never heard anyone speak as much as Genim had. The man had talked about everything and nothing at the same time and the wolf found himself hanging on every word.

When the man had returned home the Sourwolf felt an emptiness he had never felt before. He had yearned for the man, to have his smell. The aroma of cinnamon, maple and the freshness of the woods that filled the wolf's nose every time Genim near him. He yearned to hear the man's voice, the sound of his rapid heartbeat and the calming affect it had on him. Then sure enough the next day around noon, the man had come strolling up the old gravel driveway of the wolf's home and the Sourwolf finally felt himself go completely at ease again.

It was a few months after their friendship that the wolf had started to notice a change, not only in himself, but his surroundings. He was happier, felt lighter somehow and he knew it was all Genim. He started to care for his surroundings, cleaning up the ruins that he called home. One day, Genim had showed up with a ton of cleaning supplies announcing that if he was going to spend any more time there, what was left of the home needed to be cleaned.

It was a while before Genim asked him about his family. When he did, it was questions about what kind of people they were and stories of the good times that the Sourwolf had with them. The wolf expected Genim to ask what happened, but he never did. Seeing as they spent all their time in the half burned down home it wasn't hard to guess.

When Genim asked him to accompany him to a party he was invited to the Sourwolf had immediately declined. There was no way he could go into a town that was run by the people that had killed his family, he couldn't do it. That's when he had his first argument with Genim.

If the wolf was being completely honest with himself it was probably the scariest thing he had ever experienced; the thought of losing someone like Genim. When he lost his family it had just happened, in a blink of an eye, but with Genim, he was the one pushing him away. He hadn't seen Genim look at him like that before or raise his voice. He had smelled different; a flare of something the Sourwolf couldn't name or place.

Genim had argued that he was always coming to the Sourwolf, but the wolf would never come to him. The wolf had told him that he never asked Genim to come to him that he, in fact, never asked for Genim to come ever. The Sourwolf will never forget the look of hurt that washed across the man's face. Genim had left immediately and the Sourwolf hadn't seen him since.

The thing that the Sourwolf neglected to tell Genim was that along with being angry he was also scared and it had taken him a long time to realize that. The forest was his life now and going into town, which was something he avoided unless it was completely necessary. He was afraid of the people most of all.

What they would say, what they would do. In the few times he went into town people would stare at him, whispering about him, whispers that felt like screams.

He missed Genim so much it hurt. The dull ache that was in his chest was getting worse as the days, even as the hours went on. The man had invaded his life and set up camp in the Sourwolf's heart, the last place he wanted anyone.

It's his feelings for Genim, the guilt he felt for how badly he treated him that had him walking into the party Genim invited him too. He dressed in his nicest leather jacket hoping that he'd blend into the crowd. He knew he never asked for Genim in his life, but he never knew that he needed him in it until he wasn't there anymore. He knew that Genim had left their friendship up to him, letting the Sourwolf know that is his turn to make the move.

People of the party began to part letting the Sourwolf walk through. His senses were on overdrive with the amount of attention he was being given. The whispers started, and then it was the looks, the harsh glares, or frightened eyes that were sent his way

"Derek." A voice broke through the madness and the Sourwolf turned to the confused eyes of Genim. The first thing the wolf did was pull Genim into a tight embrace, squeezing him as hard as he could, allowing his scent calm him. It was a moment before Genim was hugging him back, telling him he was okay.

"I'm sorry." The wolf whispered and he felt the man nod, rubbing his back attempting to soothe the wolf, letting him know that he was forgiven.

The party wasn't as bad as the Sourwolf expected, but it was probably because he had his hand firmly in Genim's the entire night as he was introduced to all his friends. Genim knew a lot of people, which the wolf expected because of how amazing the man was. What surprised the wolf even more was that he had actually liked some of the people Genim had introduced him too. They seemed to brighten up like the Sourwolf did when Genim came around, especially the goofy one.

It was after that party when the Sourwolf had finally been able to walk the man home. They shared their first kiss. It was simple brush of the lips, but it was like time stood still. The wolf's heart was pounding in his chest; butterflies were making his stomach twist and knot up.

After that night the wolf spent more time in the town, of course only when Genim was present. It was a while before the wolf ventured out on his own. He still received looks but they seemed to be more curiosity then fear or hatred. It was like the townspeople realized he wasn't a creature that lived in the woods, but a man, different then what they were; but still someone that needed a person by his side like everyone else.

It was on one of his solo visits when the Sourwolf found a memorial dedicated to the lives lost in the fire; the one that took his entire family away from him. The wolf's shell, the one he hide in, completely cracked. He found Genim at his home, he barged in and fell into the man arms and cried. The first time he cried since after his family died, it was the first time he had let it all out. The Sourwolf let out all the pain, all frustration, all the anger, and let it wash away from him as Genim held him.

He had told Genim what happened, that the Hunters had killed his family because they had found out they were werewolves. The Hunters had tricked their way into his family's lives and they had all died, leaving the Sourwolf completely alone. He said he was too afraid to go back into town, afraid of what the Hunters would do too him.

The wolf had looked up into Genim's eyes only to see that he was crying too, Genim told him that seeing someone he loved in so much pain, hurt him in ways he couldn't explain. Genim told the Sourwolf that he knew everything that had happened. He explained to the wolf that his father was the one to arrest the Hunters for what they had done to his family.

That the Hunters had never got away with what they had done.

The city had made that memorial for the memory of all the people who died. How they never wanted to let this town be ruled by such people ever again. Genim continued to explain that the day he found him in the woods; he was out in the woods looking for him, had gotten lost, had fallen and hit his head.

He told the Sourwolf that the Hunters had taken his mother too and he understood what it was like to have someone ripped away from him. How he walked by the memorial everyday knowing the Sourwolf was out there, that he didn't know that the Hunters were gone. The Sourwolf asked Genim how he knew he was still out there. Genim said he knew the wolf was out there because on the anniversary of the fire he could hear the howls of pain come from the forest. He got tired of everyone being so afraid to tell the Sourwolf, and that he wanted to do it himself.

Genim said he didn't expect to fall in love with the Sourwolf, but because he did, it made it harder to tell him the truth.

The Sourwolf didn't know what to say to the younger man. He knew he should have been mad at Genim for hiding the truth from him, but he wasn't. He understood that Genim was only trying to avoid the Sourwolf from being in more pain. If situation had been backwards and he was trying to spare Genim pain, the wolf probably would have done the same thing.

"I love you." The wolf said for the first time. He leaned forward and claimed Genim's lips. The man sighed happily into the kiss and the Sourwolf felt his chest tighten with happiness. If the wolf hadn't been caught up in his own grief he might have noticed his feelings for the man earlier. The Sourwolf reasoned that some times in life you need people to understand you. To have someone who just understands you, and the way you are, because that was what the Sourwolf needed. He needed Genim to open his eyes to the world outside and people around him, that not all of them were bad people, that some were good. He needed Genim to realize that he could love again, that he was able care about someone else without the fear of them beginning taken away.

The Sourwolf and Genim didn't live happily ever after.

They didn't because they couldn't. Life isn't always full of happiness and the Sourwolf knew that. He knew that it beats you down so low you can't get up, but the only thing you can do it stay strong until you can.

The Sourwolf and Genim lived their life as happy and they could.

They had each other.

That's all they needed.


End file.
